Setting:
•Kanto Ops Solitary Detainment, Viridian City, Kanto•
•March 1st, 2 am•
•Silver (Age 18) POV•
Chapter Thirty-Six
Terms of Captivity
Silver sat in his cell and listened to the silence. He slept well, surprisingly enough. At some point, someone came with bland food, which he ate, anyway. There was no presence of time in the secluded area. He wondered why he was in this solitary confinement to begin with. From time to time, he heard voices beyond the door that led him there, but no one entered his room except for the people who delivered food. He was given breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so he assumed that he'd been there about a day already. Bored, he lay down on the bed again, closed his eyes, and cleared his mind. Eventually, he went back to sleep.
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•Kanto Ops Break Room, Viridian City, Kanto•
•March 1st, 3 am•
•Amber (Wolfe Alias Age 19) POV•
I didn't know exactly when, but I dozed off in my chair in the break room, and my head was leaned back against the wall. When I opened my eyes, they were burning.
I'm making it a bad habit to sleep with those contacts in. I can't take them out yet, either; I'm still in plain sight.
I then realized what it was that woke me in the first place. Standing in front of me was my boss, Darrius Surge.
He was a tall, muscular man. His arms in particular were strong, probably thanks to being a guitarist. His hair was a sandy blonde—crew cut. His azure eyes sparkled in the florescent lighting of the room, and the dimples in his cheeks showed since he was grinning. He was wearing a business suit, which suited him since he was the boss man after all. He wore some dress pants to match and a black leather belt with a shiny buckle. He wore dress shoes as well, but no tie. His police badge glistened on his jacket pocket.
"Well, well. Asleep again, huh? At this rate I'm going to have to train me a new bloodhound," he laughed.
"Quiet, old man. I was just watching the back of my eyelids," I retorted.
No one else working for Darrius would dare talk to him like that, especially on duty, but I didn't care, and he knew it, and he liked that about me. That, and we were friends, and he was a good boss.
"Old? Come on now, Wolfe. I'm not even thirty yet!" He laughed gruffly.
I smirked. "Yet. You're birthday's coming up, Mr. Midlife Crisis."
"You're just jealous that people still think of you as a kid," he smiled.
"Rather be youthful than an old fart," I grinned back.
I then stood up at attention. "So anyway, Agent Wolfe, reporting for duty, sir!" I said seriously at attention.
The Kanto Ops were a bit like the armed forces; we did respect our higher ups. I was just an exception when I wasn't down to business.
"At ease, kiddo." He smiled warmly.
I eased up, which hurt my ribs some and made me wince in pain.
"What's wrong with you?" He asked seriously.
"Oh nothing. Just a few bruises," I said quickly.
The last thing I needed was Darrius looking at my wounds; he was thorough, and he'd feel around for breaks, which would hurt even worse. He did know a thing or two about medicine, though, being the wise guy he was. I heard he had a genius-level IQ.
"Right, and Spoink fly." He scoffed.
"If they know Bounce, they do," I smirked.
"Ah, Wolfe. Always the smartass. You picked that up from Silver, I swear it." He shook his head as he chuckled.
"I'm not so sure about that, though I do think he rubbed off on me a little." I admitted quietly.
"Anyways, follow me." He led me to the interrogation room. It was secure at three in the morning. We both then sat. "Alright, consider this your debriefing. Tell me what happened."
"How far back do you want me to begin?" I asked seriously.
It had been a while since Darrius was brought up to speed.
"How about you start from the first time Team Rocket emerged?" He supplied.
"Okay. The other morning, my friend, Gold, and I were on our way to Azalea to locate Team Rocket thanks to the lead I got from Silver. On the way, we met an undercover Grunt who was selling Slowpoke Tails for a hundred bucks a pop." I began.
"From there, Gold and I hurried to Azalea. I fell down the well, and a Grunt met us at the entrance. I played dumb, and he let me stay in the entrance. Then damn Silver went and ruined things!" I growled in frustration. "He said he was going to collapse the well, so I stopped him with my Bayleef. From there, Grunts attacked; Gold and I took them down easily. We proceeded further until we met up with the Executive in charge, Proton."
"Ah, Proton. I've heard of the guy. He's got a pretty bad reputation; mean, cruel dude. Then what happened?" Darrius nodded.
"He tried taking Silver, saying his mother wanted him to step up in Team Rocket, but Proton knew that Silver wouldn't join. I stopped him by battling him. I won, but he had his Koffing blow up part of the well with Self-Destruct. I allowed myself to get stuck behind a rockslide, so Gold, Silver, and I were all trapped." I explained.
"You willingly let Team Rocket get away?" Darrius raised his eyebrow.
"Yeah, I did, but Proton thinks I'm a novice because of it. I didn't want to raise suspicion. After all, we are after Team Rocket's main base. If we find that, we wipe them all out, remember? I'm sure Proton has told his authorities about me, so I'm hoping I'll have more run-ins with higher level Team Rocket agents." I said. It made perfect sense to me.
"I see. Not bad, Agent. I see you're finally using that training of yours to your advantage. And you called it a waste of time," he half-smirked.
"Alright, alright. It wasn't but still, it took forever for it to end." I groaned thinking of the ten months of intense training I underwent when joining the Ops.
"You're always so impatient, my friend," he somewhat chuckled.
"Hmph, whatever, wise guy." I groaned again.
"So, was that all?" He asked expectantly.
"Wasn't that enough?" I asked incredulously.
"I guess. Though I somewhat wish we had a lead on their next location." Darrius sighed.
"Yeah," I sighed as well. "Silver came in handy at least for finding that first place… Speaking of, where did they put him, anyway?" I asked in an afterthought.
"He's at this station. Actually, I was about to go pay him a visit. Care to join?" Darrius offered as he stood.
"Uhh, I don't know. Do I look okay?" I asked apprehensively.
"What do you mean, 'do you look okay?' You've never been self-conscious around him before. Why start now?" He slightly smirked.
"I meant my disguise, you smartass." I smirked back.
"Oh, I didn't know you were talking about that. I don't know everything, you know." He shrugged.
"—You just know a lot," I cut in.
He chuckled. "If you say so. Yeah, you look passable as Wolfe. Your eyes are pretty bloodshot. What happened?"
"I haven't taken these contacts out in so long, it hurts… I need a new wardrobe, too, while I'm at it. And I want a trainer belt so I can have my Pokémon at the ready. Digging in my bag is a chore." I started to ramble off everything I was needing to fix.
"Wait! I never said I was going to fix your problem; I just asked what happened," he answered a little hastily.
I was sure he remembered the last time he asked me what I needed, and I ended up giving him a three-page shopping list.
"Oh, well, I don't care. Count it as mental notes if you want. I look like a disaster—even after that hot shower I took today…or technically yesterday, I guess." I admitted.
"That I will give you. Your clothes are in bad shape. You look like a bad version of a punk rocker with the torn clothes." Darrius joked.
"Thanks…" I rolled my eyes.
"Oh yeah, here. I picked this up from your place on the way here." He placed a device that I had really missed on the table. It was an mp3 player, along with my favorite headphones.
"Awesome! Thanks, D. I've wanted that for a while. I haven't heard music in so long, it's killing me slowly on the inside." I grinned as I eagerly grabbed it.
Darrius laughed. "I'm sure it is. I suppose some day you'll have to return it to its rightful owner. You know that, right?"
"I'd need your permission first, and you know it." I snorted.
"Yep. I'll let you know when you can give Silver back his music. He thinks it got destroyed in that fire more than likely, anyway, so no rush." He nodded.
"Darrius, I'm worried about him," I said seriously as I got to my feet.
He sighed. "Don't worry, Wolfe. He'll pull through just fine. I don't know what's going on in that brain of his, but I'm sure he'll come to his senses. We both lived with him for long enough to know how he is. Silver will be Silver. He's stubborn, but he'll be fine."
"I hope you're right, D. I feel bad for Sneasel. I feel guilty that Silver's turned into such an asshole. Why couldn't we let him in on this?" I asked seriously.
"You already know why, Wolfe. He's too much of a risk. If Team Rocket were to get their hands on him, it'd all be over. That's why you absolutely must not tell him who you are, understand me?" His eyes narrowed seriously.
"I get ya. Something tells me if he knew I were me, he'd probably kill me, himself, anyway…" I sighed sadly.
Darrius laughed. "Nah, I know he wouldn't. That boy had it pretty bad for you, even if he didn't realize it. He's all torn up because he's probably realizing his inaction ruined any chances of anything. He misses you; that's all."
"I miss that guy too; the old him—not the new him, though. The old Silver wasn't a bad person. It's almost like I don't even know him any more. I know it's been two years, but still. Will I ever be able to be me again, D?" I dared to ask.
"I hope so, Wolfe. I really hope so. When the time is right, you can be Amber again. But for now, we need to infiltrate Team Rocket and find their Johto base, understood?" He gently answered.
"Yes, sir." I hung my head slightly.
"Oh, and Wolfe?"
"Yeah?"
"Next time you encounter Team Rocket, contact me before you take action. You did okay back in the well, but I want you following my direct orders, understand?" He asked calmly.
I groaned. "Fine, fine. Understood."
"Well, it's been a nice chat. How about we go visit our old friend? I think things will get pretty interesting…" Darrius said as he led us out.
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•Kanto Ops Solitary Detainment, Viridian City, Kanto•
•March 1st, After 3 am•
•Silver POV•
Silver opened his eyes when he heard the solid, metal door that led to his solitary room open. He didn't think it was already time for breakfast again. Two sets of footsteps approached his "cage" as he dubbed it. The people stopped, and he heard them sitting on the bench outside.
Great. Visitors.
He didn't even make an effort to see who it was; he didn't care.
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•Kanto Ops Solitary Detainment, Viridian City, Kanto•
•March 1st, After 3 am•
•Amber (Wolfe Alias) POV•
Darrius and I walked along the hallways of the station until we came to a room, which was separate from the rest. Even I didn't know what the room held, but I figured Silver was inside. Darrius opened the door, and we both entered. He took a seat on a bench across from a cell, and I sat down as well, though the way I sat hurt my ribs, and I winced.
I looked across to see a pretty pathetic looking cell. On the bed, I could make out the bright red hair that meant sure enough, Silver was inside. I had no clue if he was sleeping or not, though.
Darrius on the other hand, noticed me wince. "You sure you're alright? I've noticed you're favoring your right side."
"I said I'm fine, D," I replied adamantly. "My ribs are a little bruised—nothing more. It's from falling down the well yesterday."
"Hm, and who was the doctor that said they were bruised and not broken?" Darrius already knew that answer.
"Myself." I glared.
"Not good enough, Agent. Last thing I need is you injured on the start of your next assignment." He shook his head.
"As long as we don't have a lead, I don't have a 'next assignment', anyway," I retorted.
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•Silver POV•
Silver restrained a groan once he realized whom the two voices belonged to. One was Darrius, which didn't surprise him much, but the second voice, belonging to Wolfe, did shock him a little.
Why is SHE here?
He remained still, feigning sleep.
Hopefully if they think I'm sleeping they'll just leave.
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•Amber (Wolfe Alias) POV•
"Let me look at your ribs. If they're bruised, I'll be able to tell." Darrius said seriously.
"It's obvious they are bruised, Darrius. They are a very lovely shade of purple," I smirked.
"You didn't let me finish, Miss Impatience. If they are broken, I'll do what I can to help you out." He scoffed with a shake of his head.
"Oh… Great. Please tell me you'll do that after we are done with your business here." I rolled my eyes.
"My business? I believe you have some business here, too. Officer Neilstone informed me about what he told you." Darrius corrected.
I groaned. "I'm refusing. I don't want to talk to him. I don't even care if he wants to talk to me. I have nothing to say!" I emphasized my point by glaring at the figure on the bed.
"As your boss, I'm ordering you to at least listen to him. And since he appears to be sleeping, why not check to see if your ribs are broken now?" Darrius calmly commanded.
"Ugh, always so efficient. Fine, but I'm not responsible if I punch you." I picked slightly.
He laughed. "I'll be gentle. I know how those types of injuries hurt. Though I thought you of all people wouldn't be a pushover to complain about pain." He picked.
It was true; the pain from my legs being practically crushed a few years ago when I saved Silver from that cave-in on Mt Silver was so much greater than that of my ribs, but at least I had pain meds that made me loopy. I had nothing in my system for my ribs.
"Give me some pain meds, and then we'll talk." I shrugged.
"Last thing I need is you acting strange. You know how pain meds react with your system." Darrius warned.
"Whatever. Just get it over with."
I turned to where Darrius could lift my shirt enough to see the bruises. At the sight of them, he inhaled a little.
"Wow, girl. You sure took quite a beating. That looks bad. It's all bruised and swollen. Looks like you lost a match against a Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee punching and kicking in the same spot." Darrius inhaled through his teeth.
"Thanks for the commentary. Just get it over with, 'kay?" I scoffed.
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•Silver POV•
Silver's curiosity got the better of him; Wolfe was injured, which interested him for some reason. Luckily, Darrius was focused on her, and Wolfe's eyes were closed, so Silver got to spy on them. Darrius was in his usual business attire—nothing surprising about that. Wolfe looked pretty worse for wear, though, especially her clothes.
He then spied her ribs and saw what Darrius meant; they did look pretty beaten up. He made a mental note not to take that type of fall and land like that. She did drop like ten feet at least when she fell into that well.
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•Amber (Wolfe Alias) POV•
I winced and gritted my teeth as Darrius poked and prodded around my injured ribs; on one, he kept running his fingers in the same area repeatedly, which really hurt.
"Dammit, D, move on or make a prognosis!" I nearly growled, trying not to swear further.
"That spot hurts the worst, doesn't it?" He asked as the finger rubbed a really painful spot again.
"Yeah. How could you tell?" I asked with as much sarcasm as I could muster with the pain.
"I think you maybe have a hairline fracture right there; otherwise, the rest are just bruised." He concluded.
"Great. You're telling me I got a broken rib?" I groaned.
"It's not plain broken—just lightly fractured." He corrected.
"So what am I supposed to do?" I asked.
"I want you to take it easy for now. You won't be returning to Johto until it's healed. So, whatever plans you had? Drop them." He decided.
"So what am I supposed to be doing here, then? I'm not exactly police material…and I'm not volunteering for light duty." I shook my head.
"Oh, I have a job for you. You'll be training Silver." Darrius said matter-of-factly.
"What?!" Both Silver and I replied at the same time.
"Heh, I knew you were awake, Silver." Darrius replied as Silver shot up out of bed and glared at him.
"Darrius, with all due respect, I'm NOT training Silver to do anything." I protested.
"Don't make me get you your own cell, Wolfe." Darrius threatened sternly.
"You wouldn't dare!" I growled.
"I would. I need you, but if you aren't going to cooperate, I'd have no choice but to imprison you until the operation is over. You know too much." He folded his arms.
"Ugh, you make things difficult. Why do I have to train him? He's used up his usefulness, and he wants to kill Team Rocket—which doesn't go well with our plan." I crossed my arms angrily as well.
"Darrius, I have to agree. I'm not taking orders from HER of all people. I don't know what you want me trained for, but I refuse." Silver concurred.
"That's not what you told Amber's dad, now is it, Silver?" Darrius taunted.
"All I said was I lied about wanting to kill Team Rocket and that I wanted to help. I had no idea he'd tell you, anyway. Besides, I told him I hated Wolfe, and I do," Silver looked at me sternly.
"He doesn't want it. I don't want it. Come on, Darrius! Don't pull our teeth for cryin' out loud! If you want him trained that badly, have someone else do it." I complained.
"No. You're my top agent. No one else is qualified for this operation to do it. Both of you put aside your selfishness for a while and think about the greater good. Both of you want to get rid of Team Rocket, right?" Darrius said with that infuriatingly calm tone he got that preceded a lecture.
"Duh. I want life to be normal again." It was a slip-up, but a very true one.
"Yes. I owe it to Amber. I told you that already, Darrius," concurred Silver.
"Well then, I now pronounce you trainer and student," Darius grinned.
I sighed. "Great…This ought to be REAL fun. Do I get a police badge if I finish training him without killing him?" I joked.
"No badges for you, Wolfe. You're my undercover agent—not a cop. And if you even think about hurting Silver aside from training, I'll have you demoted and send you to boot camp." Darrius threatened.
"Ugh, I'll behave. I'm not all impulsion and recklessness, Darrius. I was joking. I'm well trained, so on behalf of that, I'll do it. I don't approve of training him, but I'll do it to the best of my ability as you ordered." I groaned. This was the last thing I wanted.
"Good. Silver, if I hear that you disrespect Wolfe in the slightest, I'll have you thrown back in here so fast, the door will hit your ass as you walk in. Understood?" Darrius threatened.
"Fine. I'm not making promises." Silver snorted.
"Fine then to yourself. I meant what I said. Now, Wolfe and Silver, I suppose I'll explain to you both what this training will be about." Darrius was getting warmed up.
"Oh joys, a lecture," I stated blandly. That actually got a smirk out of Silver, to my amusement. He knew that tone just as well as I did.
"Yes, a lecture, but a necessary one—and it's short. Now anyway, Wolfe, I'm thinking about making Silver your operations partner." Darrius shocked the hell out of me.
"You have GOT to be kidding me. I'll train him, but team up with him? Are you nuts? There's too much at stake here to do that!" I felt my body go rigid at just the thought.
"Is this some sort of test or something? BESIDES you just stated earlier why we couldn't have Silver in the Ops, remember?!" I added in a slight panic.
"Perhaps it is just a little bit of a test. Call it character building if you absolutely want. Wolfe, Silver is an accomplished trainer; you'll find him a great asset." Darrius explained.
"Besides, would you really rather this boy sit in that cell for as long as Team Rocket is around, or do you think it'd be best for us to use him for all he's worth to help rid the world of Team Rocket for good? It's too late for him to not be involved in any way; he knows too much now." D also added.
"Ugh, I see your point." I groaned and slightly slumped. "I guess it wouldn't be fair to anyone to be caged up for an uncertain amount of time."
"But hold up, are you saying I'm not an accomplished trainer?" I asked in an afterthought.
"No, you're a new trainer with new Pokémon." Darrius quickly corrected.
"They're strong," I pointed out.
"Silver is stronger. At least his Sneasel is. He's had it for years; even if he doesn't treat it right, it'll battle its hardest for him." Darrius was telling the truth.
"You do know I'm still right here, right?" Silver asked.
"I didn't forget about you. Now. Anyway, Wolfe will be training you to become her teammate. I'll have a special anklet put around your leg so we can track you at all times just in case you try to make a getaway. If you tamper with it, Wolfe will know, and she will send for backup, though I suppose she can handle it since she tied you up with her Bayleef." Darrius warned.
"Just remember, no funny business. I know you hate each other, but sometimes work is about getting along with people you hate, anyway." He added.
"I never said I hated Silver," I pointed out.
Silver looked surprised.
"I just don't like his methods or the way he treats his Pokémon. I've learned: don't hate the person, hate what the person does." I said a bit sagely.
"Wise, Wolfe, but regardless, you need to learn to accept Silver. Just like you, Silver, need to accept Wolfe. I want you to give her the respect she deserves." Darrius warned as he looked sternly at Silver.
"What am I supposed to be training him for, anyway? You didn't really specify…" I trailed off.
"Remember your training?"
"Yeah, all ten months of it." I nodded.
"I want you to do that in one." Darrius said like it was no big deal.
"What?! And you want me to take it easy?! Are you out of your mind, Darrius? I can't do that! Half the things we learned took over a week in themselves to learn." I groaned at the sheer impossibility of it.
"And, if you're saying that… No…" I trailed off a second. "You can't be making him a Kanto Op. That's just crazy! What if he gets captured? Don't you think he'll rat out the Ops?!" I asked in pure alarm.
"That's a risk I'm willing to take. I'd rather have him on the team than off the team. You'll start today in a few hours. Both of you get rest until then." Darrius said with finality.
"Wolfe, I'll give you some pain meds and help you with that rib. Silver, get some rest; you'll need it. Wolfe won't be an easy instructor. I'm certain of it." He added to both of us.
With that, Darrius led me out of the room, gave me pain meds, and sent me to my quarters. My head spun with the news of me training Silver and even being teamed up with him—until the pain meds kicked in, and I was off to dreamland.
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•Silver POV•
After all of that, Silver really couldn't sleep. He was not too thrilled about how things turned out. Wolfe would have him under her thumb, and Darrius wanted it that way. He'd still be a prisoner even after he was set free; he was not thrilled at all.
Once again, Wolfe said things that didn't make sense, but he quit trying to comprehend them. He then decided, maybe this will work out after all.
She'll be bound to say even more things around me while training me; Wolfe, I'll find out who you really are just yet.
With that, he closed his eyes as he lay down again, and he managed to fall back asleep—even if it was only a faint one.